Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Federal panel of two Republican-appointed judges and one Democrat-appointed judge overseeing the gerrymandering case against the Republicans found that they unconstitutionally gerrymandered Wisconsin districts strictly for partisan gain, and they have ordered at least a portion of the maps fixed before any of the new maps can be used. The Republicans had already been ordered by the court to reveal their secret emails which showed they signed agreements to keep secret the maps and discussions that took place at a private attorney's office through intimidation, and the emails also showed that the Republicans orchestrated public testimony in favor of the maps. The judges had already given the Republicans a chance to fix their gerrymandering, but Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald refused.

The Republicans have already wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money trying to protect their illegal gerrymandering. The panel said, "Regrettably, like many other states, Wisconsin chose a sharply partisan methodology that has cost the state in dollars, time and civility." And Fitzgerald wants to waste far more by refusing to fix their gerrymandering. He said there is "not a chance" they will be willing to fix their gerrymandering.

The Democrats are pleading on the side of Wisconsin citizens to fix the gerrymandering. Senate Democrat Leader Mark Miller said, "It is ridiculous that Republicans would ignore a court order to fix an unlawful map. Maybe they should sleep on it," and Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca said, "We need to immediately begin to redraw the maps in a manner that is fully open and transparent and does not, in the words of the court, 'needlessly move' more than a million citizens of Wisconsin."

If the Republicans are unwilling to fix their gerrymandering, Wisconsin taxpayers will likely pay millions of dollars to get maps through the courts. Tell the Republicans to stop wasting taxpayer money and fix their illegal gerrymandering!

The judges began their decision with, "There was once a time when Wisconsin was famous for its courtesy and its tradition of good government."